A team of Cornell economists recently published a report detailing terminal market activity in the US. The report “Wholesale Produce Markets: An On-Site Infrastructure Assessment” is available at https://business.cornell.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Wholesale_Produce_Markets_Infrastructure_FINAL__VD_.pdf

Researchers estimate that the forty-eight remaining terminal produce markets in the US move 47% of the produce in those metropolitan areas. Most US terminal produce markets serve the Southeast and Eastern seaboards. 28 markets in the South and Southeast are operated by the state departments of agriculture. Only five cities in the Midwest currently host terminal markets: St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, Louisville, and Cleveland. US terminal markets sometimes also host open retail markets or support farmer wholesale activity, as they do in Ontario. Chicago’s market serves wholesalers only.

Wholesale produce markets that still in operation face critical infrastructure deterioration and obsolescence that hinder modern product flow, food safety compliance, and operational efficiency. 60% of market managers desire major structural expansions or renovations despite a lack of public or private capital investment.

Core Infrastructure Challenges

• Deteriorating Facilities: Aging physical buildings feature original designs unsuited for modern logistics, cold-chain preservation, and timely produce handling.
• Regulatory Hurdles: Inadequate configurations restrict compliance with contemporary food safety mandates, limiting market access to primary mainstream buyers like major grocery chains.
• Capital Deficits: Rising construction and renovation costs leave most terminal facilities struggling to self-fund essential physical upgrades.

Improvement Priorities

• Dock Upgrades: 60% of surveyed managers prioritize loading dock enhancements, including added space, leveling systems, and temperature-controlled environments.
• Structural Repairs: 50% target core building components such as deteriorating roofs, worn flooring systems, exterior walls, and industrial doors.
• Operational Themes: Investments center around six main pillars: workflow efficiency, food safety compliance, product quality preservation, spatial growth, functional utilities, and centralized business services.

Canada is investing $1 billion to build 2 more food terminals by 2028, aiming to strengthen the food system & stabilize prices. Canada has one terminal now, the Ontario Food Terminal at Toronto. Twenty-one produce wholesalers and 400 farmers sell wholesale at the market. The Terminal supports local farmers, local fruit and vegetable stores, independent and chain supermarkets, retailers, restauranteurs, foodservice, caterers, farmers’ markets, farm gate markets, florists, garden centres, landscapers, convenience stores and institutions. Buyers are from as far away as Manitoba and the Atlantic provinces.

Thursday, April 30, 5-9pm, 2026 @the Eight10, 810 Churchill Street, Waupaca WI

This event formally introduces the STC vision, its intended impact and opportunities for collaboration as WFHC works toward a more resilient and equitable food system in Wisconsin.

The evening will feature thoughtfully prepared cuisine catered by J’s BBQ, highlighting locally sourced ingredients, along with stories and perspectives from small and local producers across the state. The Orphans, the famous MKE cover band, will enliven the evening.

Tickets start at $25. To RSVP, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/introducing-the-stc-super-transport-cooperative-created-by-wfhc-tickets-1983733720960?aff=oddtdtcreator

The closing of the USDA Local Food Purchasing Program has been devastating for hundreds of farm and food businesses across the state. One critical infrastructure partner affected is the Wisconsin Food Hub Coop. Our food hub moves local foods to market and is partnering with smaller warehouses to create the Super Transport Coop.

To replace the LFPA market, the WFHC is initiating a statewide food box program. You can order boxes to be delivered to sites across Wisconsin for pick up, starting late summer.

Now, you can purchase a t-shirt to support the effort. Every t-shirt you purchase helps feed families in need, uplift local farmers, and strengthen the roots of Wisconsin communities. It’s more than just a shirt— it’s a statement of support and a step toward a stronger, more resilient food system.

Restaurant owners in the Madison area know R.E. Golden Produce for its exceptional service and local foods selection. The company has outgrown it’s space and moved to Madison’s south side, on Fish Hatchery Road.

Its founder, R.E. (aka “Bobby”) Golden, was a key builder of Madison’s local food movement back in the early days. Watch this short film to understand the work needed to create our food co-ops. It also shows the role that R.E. Golden played in that effort.

For those of us working on building our regional food infrastructure, it has been a busy couple of months. Up to March 6, we were writing, emailing, and zooming to develop successful proposals to DATCP to rebuild our food systems. The Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) program is a one time USDA Agricultural Marketing Service effort to provide states with capital to make our food systems more resilient. Of all the states, Wisconsin received the second largest federal investment: $27million. Only California had a larger program.

Wisconsin Food Systems submitted a proposal to build the information platform our small and medium sized businesses need to improve B2B transactions. We also wrote letters of support for several other proposals to demonstrate that we are in this together. One of those proposals supported the expansion of RE Golden’s warehouse in Madison. Bobby Golden was a founder of the local wholesale food movement, bringing truckloads of food to ICC and Mifflin St. Coop in the early 70s. His company, now owned by his son and partners, continues the tradition, serving Madison area restaurants with local foods. Other proposals supported the Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative’s efforts to move Wisconsin produce throughout the state, with a special commitment to serving the underserved. Our Tribal partners submitted several proposals to restore Tribal trade routes for foods native to Wisconsin such as manoomin, maple syrup, and white corn.

Proposals were due March 6 and the word is that 255 proposals were submitted, totaling $158 million in requests. We expect funded projects will be announced this summer. Perhaps state government and private investors might step in to further meet this demonstrated need? We know that not all the projects requested will be funded through this program so making sure that our work is inclusive and strategic is more important than ever. We will continue to build alliances and work together to realize the food systems we envision.

(Rumor has it that this program was inspired by the Madison Terminal Market report. How cool is that?)